Research

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Southeast Asian politics – Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar/Burma, Brunei, Timor Leste, Thailand & Singapore
Comparative politics – state formation, democracy, freedom, elections, human rights, party politics, political attitudes and political culture, peace, conflict and violence, Islam and Democracy
Gender politics – gender participation, rights and gender equality
International relations – ASEAN, US/Southeast Asia relations, aid flows, transnational challenges and humanitarian responses

CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Regime Support in Southeast Asia
Democratic Citizenship and Youth in Southeast Asia
Political Attitudes and Electoral Behavior in Malaysia
Leadership and Political Institutions in Southeast Asia
Women’s Participation in Politics in Southeast Asia
Political Islam and Democracy
Contested Internet Freedom and Democracy in Southeast Asia

BOOKS

2021, Sabah From the Ground: The 2020 Elections & The Politics of Survival. (Co-edited with Vilashini Somiah & Benjamin YH Loh). (Malaysia: SIRD, Singapore: ISEAS)
2018, Regime Resilience in Malaysia and Singapore. (Co-edited with Greg Lopez). (Malaysia: SIRD and Rowman Littlefield)
2016, The End of UMNO?: Essays on Malaysia’s dominant party. (Malaysia: Petaling Jaya)
2014, Bangkit: Tempoh Pent Adbiran Abdullah Badawi di Malaysia. (Co-edited with James Chin)
2013, Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia. (Co-edited with James Chin). (Kuala Lumpur: SIRD)
2012, Democracy TakeOff? The Habibie Period (co-edited with Dewi Fortuna Anwar). (Jakarta: Sinar Harapan)
2012, Penang in Numbers. (co-authored with Ramesh Chander). (Penang: UPEN- Penang Institute)
2009, Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore. (Co-edited with James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan & Tan Tarn How) (Singapore: National University Press)
2008, A Legacy of Engagement in Southeast Asia. (Co-edited with Ann Marie Murphy). (Singapore: ISEAS)
2004, Reflections: The Mahathir Years. (Washington, DC: Johns Hopkins University-SAIS)

SELECTED CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES

2021, “PAP’s Pandemic Backfire: The Covid-19 Factor in Singapore’s 2020 Polls,” in Kevin YL Tan and Terence Lee (eds.), Voting in a Time of Change: Singapore’s 2020 General Election. (Singapore: Ethos)
2021, “Worrying Flattening Curve: Women’s Political Participation in Southeast Asia,” in Women, Policy and Political Leadership: Regional Perspectives. Vol 2/2021.
2020, “Malaysia’s Political Polarization: Race, Religion, and Reform,” in Political Polarization in South and Southeast Asia: Old Divisions, New Dangers. Report prepared for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
2019, “Back To The Past?,” ISIS Focus. Vol 1/2019, No. 9.
2019, “Euphoria Dashed: Malaysia’s Struggle With Political Transition,” Global Asia. Vol 14, No. 1 (March), pp. 84-96.
2018, “‘Saviour’ Politics and Malaysia’s 2018 Electoral Democratic Breakthrough: Rethinking Explanatory Narratives and Implications,” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. Vol 37, No. 3 (2018), pp. 85–108.
2018, “Special Issue Introduction: The 2018 Malaysian General Elections: The Return of Mahathir and the Exit of UMNO,” (with James Chin) Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. Vol 37, No. 3 (2018), pp. 3-8.
2018, “From the Streets to the Courtroom: Judicial Electoral Contestation,” Relazioni Internazionali e International Political Economy del Sud-Est Asiatico. Vol. 3, No. 1 (March,) pp 5-6.
2017, “Trends in Soft Power in East Asia: Distance, Diversity and Drivers,” (with Kai-Ping Huang) Global Asia. Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 2017, pp. 112-117.
2016, “So Close, but Yet So Far: Public Perceptions of ASEAN”, (with Kai-Ping Huang) ASEAN Briefs. Vol. 3, Issue 6, (August).
2016, “Political Identities, Engagement and Voting in Singapore’s 2015 Election” in Terence Lee and Kevin YL Tan, Change in Voting: Singapore’s 2015 General Election (Singapore: Ethos), pp. 191-219.
2016, “Clientelism and Control: The PAP’s Fight for Safety,” Round Table. Online Publication, March 16, 2016.
2015. “Elections in Malaysia: Voting Behavior and Electoral Integrity,” in Meredith L. Weiss (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia. (London: Routledge Press)
2015, “Millennials and East Asia’s Democratic Future,” (with Yun-han Chu) Journal of Democracy, Vol. 26, No. 2, April, pp.151-64
2015, “Choosing China: public perceptions of choosing ‘China as a model’,” (co-authored with Alex Chang). Journal of Contemporary China.
2014, Youth and Democratic Citizenship in East and South-East Asia: Exploring political attitudes of East and South-East Asian youth through the Asian Barometer Survey. Reported prepared for UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre and Asian Barometer.
2013, “Malaysia’s: A Step Backward,” Journal of Democracy. Volume 24/2 (October), pp. 136-150.
2013, “Trauma and Triumphalism in Malaysia,” Current History. September 2013. Vol. 112.
2013, “Congruence and Variation in Sources of Regime Support in Asia,” (coauthored with Alex Chang and Yun-han Chu). Taiwan Journal of Democracy, Volume 9, No. 1 (July), pp. 221-237.
2013, “Southeast Asia: Sources of Regime Support,” Journal of Democracy. Volume 24/2 (April), pp. 150-164.
2011, “Does Difference Matter: Particular and National Identities in Singapore’s 2011 General Election,” in Kelvin YL Tan and Terence Lee (eds.). Voting in Change: Politics of Singapore’s 2011 General Election. (Singapore, Ethos Books)
2010, “Mobbing in Indonesia,” in Ashutosh Varshney (ed.) Collective Violence in Indonesia. (Boulder, Co: Lynne Rienner Press)
2008. “Muslim Professional Associations and Politics in Southeast Asia,” NBR Analysis. Volume 18/2 (March), pp. 35-51.
2006, “Malaysia’s Sarawak State Elections 2006: Understanding a Break in the BN Armor”. Report prepared for the National Democratic Institute, Washington, DC.